Propeller for vessels.



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PROPELLER FOR VESSBLS APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 1904.

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NiTED STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

PROPELLER FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,317, dated July 11,1905.

Application filed May 31, 1904. Serial No. 210,554.

To all whmn/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, J oHN SAUNDERS, Jr., a citizen of the United States,residing at Greenbay, in the county of Brown and State of Wisconsin,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propellers forVessels; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in propellers for steam vessels;and it consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement ofdevices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the stern of asteam vessel provided With a propeller embodying my improvements. Fig. 2is an inverted plan view of the same.

In accordance with my invention the hub 1 of the propeller is relativelylarge, being approximately of a diameter equal to one-third the diameterof the propeller. This enables the propeller-blades 2 to be set at suchan angle as to give them the greatest possible efficiency and providesthe hub with a surface of suflicient extent to enable the blades to besecurely attached thereto. This enables the blades to be comparativelystraight from end to end, so that the entire surface of each blade isefficient and the blades do not drag in the water, as is the case withpropellers of usual form, in which the hub is so small as to render itnecessary to twist the inner ends of the blades and thicken them inorder to secure the blades to the hub and make the blades sufficientlystrong.

To prevent the hub of my improved propeller from dragging in the water,I provide the vessel with a water-shed 3 of cylindrical form, which isconcentric with the propellershaft, and the diameter of the rear end ofeach is equal to that of the hub of the propeller. At the rear end ofthe said water-shed and betweenthe latter and the front side of thepropeller-hub is a block I of cylindrical form, the diameter of which isequal, or substantially so, to that of the rear end of the water- 5 shedand the propeller-hub.

In the rear side of the propeller-hub is a recess 5 of concave form. Therudder 6 has'a rearwardly-tapering cap 7 of conical form, which projectsfrom opposite sides of the rudder and is provided at its front enlargedend with a segmental head 8, which is adapted to enter the concaverecess 5 of the propellerhub. This enables the rudder to be readilyturned as required to steer the vessel, and the cap 7 forms a run forthe water displaced by the water-shed 3 and the enlarged hub of thepropeller.

My improved propeller obviates the waste of power occasioned by draggingin the water, which is an objection to propellers now in common use, andis much stronger than the propellers now in common use.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the inventionwill be readily understood without requiring a more extendedexplanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

A vessel having a propeller having an enlarged hub, said vessel having awater-shed disposed in front of the propeller-hub and corresponding indiameter at its rear end to the diameter of the hub, the latter having aconcar e recess in its rear side, and a rudder having a cap providedwith a crown of segmental form projecting from the front side of therudder and extending into the recess in the propeller-hub.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. A

' JoHN SAUNDERS, JR.

Witnesses:

BYRON H. STEBBINs, J oHN F. DooKRY.

